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If you've ever opened the reports section of your accounting software, you've probably noticed something called a Trial Balance. Perhaps you've clicked on it out of curiosity. Perhaps you've looked at the two columns of figures, wondered what on earth they mean and quietly closed it again. Or perhaps you've never looked at it because you've assumed it's something your accountant needs rather than you. That's understandable. A trial balance isn't particularly exciting to look

You've set up your limited company, opened a business bank account and started earning money. Brilliant! Now comes a question that catches quite a few new company directors out. How do I actually pay myself? If you've previously been self-employed, you might be used to transferring money from your business account into your personal account whenever you need it. Running a limited company is different. Your limited company is a separate legal entity. That means the money in it

There are some jobs in bookkeeping that don't sound particularly exciting. Bank reconciliation is definitely one of them. It doesn't generate sales, bring in new customers or make your business look particularly impressive. You probably won't find business owners enthusiastically discussing their latest bank reconciliation over dinner but it's one of the most important tasks we undertake. Modern accounting software has made the process so much easier than it used to be, there

Taking on your first employee is a big moment. It often means the business has reached the point where you simply cannot or don't want to do everything yourself anymore. You've found the right person, agreed their hours and salary and decided when they're going to start. Excellent! Now you just need to pay them. Except, unfortunately, becoming an employer involves slightly more than transferring some money into their bank account every Friday and writing “wages” in the bookke

Starting an ecommerce business has never been easier. You can build a website, upload some products, connect a payment provider and potentially make your first sale before you've given much thought to the bookkeeping. Therein lies the problem because while ecommerce makes selling remarkably easy, it doesn't automatically make the bookkeeping easy. Your customer pays £100. Your payment provider takes a fee. The ecommerce platform records the order. Perhaps another app sends it

There are some accounting reports that sound considerably more complicated than they actually are. Aged Debtors and Aged Creditors are perfect examples. They may sound like reports destined to be opened once a year by your bookkeeper, stared at thoughtfully for a few minutes and then filed away somewhere. In reality, they're two of the most useful reports available to a business owner. Why? Because your bank balance tells you how much cash you have today. Your Profit & Loss t

There are certain combinations of letters that can make a business owner's stomach drop. HMRC is definitely one of them. An unexpected letter arrives, there's a notification in your tax account, your bookkeeper says, “Can we just have a chat about your tax?” Suddenly your brain has skipped over every reasonable explanation and arrived somewhere around “I'm going to prison.” Tax can create a surprising amount of fear. Fear of getting something wrong. Fear of a huge bill. Fear

Buying a new vehicle should be exciting. You've chosen the model, decided on the colour, worked out whether you really need the upgraded sound system and convinced yourself that the heated steering wheel is an essential business requirement. Then comes the question we hear regularly “How do I put it through the business?” . The answer is... it depends. It depends on whether you're a sole trader or limited company. It depends on whether you're buying a car or a van. It depends

Being an employer comes with quite a few responsibilities. Paying people correctly is the obvious one but then somebody is off sick, somebody else is having a baby. Another employee is adopting and someone's baby needs neonatal care. Suddenly payroll isn't simply hours worked × hourly rate = wages. There are statutory payments to consider, eligibility rules to check, evidence to obtain, dates that matter and in many cases, money that can be reclaimed from HMRC. This is an are

Marriage comes with many benefits. Companionship. Shared experiences. Someone to blame when the thermostat has mysteriously changed and for some couples, a small but useful Income Tax saving. The Marriage Allowance allows eligible married couples and civil partners to transfer part of one person's Personal Allowance to the other. For the 2026/27 tax year, that transfer is £1,260 and could reduce the couple's overall Income Tax bill by as much as £252. It isn't going to fund a

“I’m not an accountant, I’m just a bookkeeper.” I’ve said it myself. Usually, it’s when somebody has mistakenly referred to me as an accountant and I’m trying to explain that, actually, I’m not. The more I’ve heard the phrase “just a bookkeeper” over the years, including coming out of my own mouth, the more I’ve realised how much that tiny word undermines the profession because I am not an accountant, I’m a bookkeeper! Those two things are not interchangeable. Accountants qui

The internet has made doing business internationally incredibly easy. You can sell a product to someone in France before breakfast, pay for software supplied from America at lunchtime and order stock from China before you finish for the day. From a business owner's point of view, they're just transactions. From a VAT point of view? Welcome to a whole new world of questions: Is it goods or services? Is the customer a business or an individual? Where are they based? Where did t

Owning a furnished holiday let can be a fantastic investment. Whether you're welcoming guests through Airbnb, Booking.com or your own website, holiday accommodation can provide an additional income stream and, if done well, a rewarding business. It's also an area that's often misunderstood: What expenses can you claim? Do you need to register for VAT? Can you reclaim the VAT on refurbishing the property? And didn't the tax rules change recently? Let's look at what every holid

Looking after your health has never been more important. Whether it's a trip to the optician, a physiotherapy appointment, private medical insurance or counselling, many of us invest in our wellbeing to stay healthy, productive and able to work. When it comes to tax, one of the biggest questions we hear is "Can I put that through the business?" As with so many areas of bookkeeping and tax, the answer is rarely a simple yes or no. It depends on who you are, what the expense is

When you start a business, saying yes feels like progress. Yes to the new enquiry. Yes to the extra work. Yes to the client who needs something urgently. Yes to the “quick question” that somehow develops its own postcode. In the early days, yes create momentum. They bring opportunities, relationships and growth. They help build the business you hoped to create. As a business grows, something changes. You begin to realise that saying yes to everything is not the same as moving

"How can I have made a profit but have no money in the bank?" It's one of the questions we hear most often. On the face of it, it doesn't seem to make sense. Surely if your business has made a profit, there should be cash piling up in your bank account? Unfortunately, running a business isn't quite that straightforward. In fact, it's entirely possible to have a profitable business that's struggling to pay its bills. Equally, you can have plenty of cash sitting in the bank whi

If you work in the construction industry, you've probably come across invoices that look something like this: Labour: £2,000 Materials: £500 Fuel: £100 Hotel: £150 Parking: £20 At first glance, it all seems fairly straightforward. When it comes to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), not everything on that invoice is treated in the same way. Throw VAT into the mix, and it's easy to see why so many contractors and subcontractors get confused. One of the most common question

If I had a pound for every card machine receipt we've been sent over the years… well, I could probably retire! It's one of the most common mistakes we see. A client pays for something, keeps the little card machine receipt, uploads it to their bookkeeping software and thinks, "Job done." Unfortunately, HMRC doesn't quite see it that way. If you're VAT registered, knowing what does and doesn't count as a VAT invoice could save you hundreds (or even thousands) of pounds over th

When I started my bookkeeping practice, one thing I knew from the outset was that I didn't want a traditional office. At the time, that probably raised a few eyebrows. After all, how do you build a team if nobody sits together? How do you collaborate? How do you create a company culture? Perhaps most importantly, what do people actually do all day if they're working from home? (Spoiler alert: it's not endless episodes of daytime television.) The truth is, we've always been a

Few things surprise new clients more than this conversation: "I'd like to appoint you as my bookkeeper." "Wonderful. We'll just need some photo ID, proof of address, information about your business, details of ownership..." "Hang on, I thought I was hiring a bookkeeper, not applying for a mortgage!" If you've ever felt that way, you're certainly not alone. One of the questions we're asked most frequently is why we need so much information before we can start working with a cl